Sports
Nelsonville-York Buckeyes Stumble Against Meigs Marauders
By: Thomas Garverick
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For a split second, it looked like the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes had figured it out and put their January woes behind them. But for the sixth time in their last eight games, the Buckeyes fell again, this time at the hand of the Meigs Marauders, 80-53.
The 10-10 Buckeyes (1-9 TVC-Ohio) had the 11-8 Marauders (6-3 TVC-Ohio) on their heels early in this one as they were matching them stride for stride and it seemed that the light bulb finally went off for the Buckeyes. That light bulb burned out in the final 1:30 of the first half as the Marauders went on a 13-0 run late in the second quarter and from there, they never looked back.
With the loss, the Buckeyes have now lost seven straight conference games in TVC-Ohio play, something they haven’t been able to overcome all year. It didn’t help the Buckeyes’ cause that they were without the services of their leader, senior Hunter Edwards.
Edwards was pulled early in the team’s last game against the Alexander Spartans after dealing with flu-like symptoms and the sickness carried into tonight’s game. The Buckeyes desperately needed someone outside of Aron Davis to pick up the scoring duties with Edwards on the shelf.
It didn’t come from one of the three other seniors, it came from the depths of the Buckeye bench. Sophomore guard Justin Perry had one of is better offensive shooting performances of the year, as he provided the lift offensively, sparking the Buckeyes with 10 points in this one as he normally comes off the bench.
Perry wasn’t the only sophomore who got in on the scoring action. Ethan Bohyer has had his moments in games this year and tonight was one of those growing moments for the second-year player who finished with 14 himself.
As another disappointing season continues to wind down for this N-Y team who looked so promising for rejuvenation to start the year, these two sophomores gave Coach Jay Kline a reason to have optimism going forward in the future, showing tonight that they have the capabilities to lead this team going forward with Edwards and Aron Davis graduating.
Davis tried to be extra heroic tonight without his running mate Edwards, but the Marauders didn’t allow him to have a similar outing like he did against Liberty Union as Davis finished with 20 points to lead the Buckeyes. Davis let out many yells of frustration, a growing trend that reflects the senior’s frustration for how the end of his last season has gone.
The Marauders did what they were supposed to do and beat a below average team, a theme for a team who has beaten up on the pretenders and have fallen short to the contenders.
They were led by Christian Mattox, who gave the Buckeyes all they could handle on the wing. The Marauders’ guard finished with 14 points, as they Buckeyes were unable to slow him down all night. But it wasn’t just Mattox, as this team has never been built through one player.
Mattox was assisted by strong performances by fellow guard Weston Baer and forward Luke Musser who both had 12 points and provided a three-headed monster that the Buckeyes couldn’t stop.
The Marauders look to carry their momentum as they travel to take on Wellston on Friday, Feb. 10.
For the Buckeyes, they will try to salvage their season on senior night when they welcome in the River Valley Raiders on Friday, Feb. 10, looking to pick up just their second conference win of the season.